Sand at the waterline on Padre Island measured 83 degrees, but temperatures climbed to 122 degrees closer to the seawall — well above the 120-degree threshold at which skin can begin to burn in seconds.
A heat gun test also found the nearby parking lot asphalt reached 110 degrees.
Jake Cox, visiting from Canton, said the danger caught him off guard.
"Did you know the sand could get hot enough to burn skin?" Cox said. "No, I never really thought of it, to be honest with you."
Local resident Ken Adams said he was not surprised. He said he has been navigating dangerously hot surfaces all summer, particularly when walking his dog.
"Because just asphalt on the street gets that hot as well, and that's why we try to keep her off of it, except late in the evening or early in the morning before it heats up," Adams said.
Adams said he adjusts his dog-walking schedule to avoid peak heat hours.
"We walk early in the morning, late in the evening, not in the middle of the day. We try to keep her in shade as much as possible when we do walk," Adams said.
Shane Pavlock, visiting from Austin, was surprised when a heat gun reading hit 116 degrees in the sand near him, but said he already had a strategy for dealing with it.
"We try to keep our flip flops on, um, you know, I know sometimes when you can dig in the sand, kind of get underneath that hot surface, and that kind of helps. We try to keep it as cool and wet as possible," Pavlock said.
Sand is hotter than it looks. Beach goers should wear sandals, take shade breaks, and watch children's feet closely during extreme heat.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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